Stand up for yourself!
by yellow 14
Summary: Moaning Myrtle has a conversation that will change her life in a way that she could not have imagined. A response to the Love for a Poltergeist challenge by Enapets21. Enjoy.


Disclaimer: I don't own and never will.

AN: This is my response to the Love for a Poltergeist challenge by Enapets21. Enjoy.

There was a sudden shrieking noise, followed by the sound of flushing as Moaning Myrtle tried to drown herself once more. It wasn't like anyone CARED! Myrtle mused to herself. Nobody cared when she was alive and people cared even less now that she was dead. She let out a moan of unhappiness.

"You don't always have to be unhappy you know." A slightly airy voice said in a conversational tone. "Being dead doesn't stop you living life."

Myrtle spun around angrily. Who was this stupid girl, telling her to 'live' her life? She was a GHOST, that's why she COULDN'T live her life!

"And how am I supposed to do that? I'm a GHOST! In case you haven't noticed, I'm ALREADY dead!" Myrtle snapped waspishly as she turned to face the girl who had spoken. The girl looked unperturbed by Myrtle's tone. In fact, with her long, dirty blonde hair (That Myrtle enviously wished she had) and look of almost permanent surprise, the girl probably would have been hard pressed to look put out at all.

"So are the other ghosts, but they don't make such a fuss." The girl pointed out in a still ethereal-sounding voice. "If you keep on being so miserable all the time, you'll attract Phinea Butterflies."

"I-you-what!" Myrtle spluttered and the girl gave Myrtle a smile.

"Phinea Butterflies are attracted to misery and unhappiness. I'm surprised they haven't infested your toilet already." She explained. "I'm trying to catch one for daddy. They're really rare now."

"Who ARE you?" Myrtle asked, her anger dissipating as curiosity took over.

"Me?" The girl seemed surprised by the question. "I'm Luna Lovegood."

Myrtle was even more curious. By all accounts, this girl was bullied as badly as Myrtle had been in life, but Myrtle had not expected her to be like THIS. She seemed so calm, so happy by comparison to Myrtle.

"You're not what I expected." Myrtle admitted and Luna's head jerked up in surprise.

"You've heard of me?" Luna asked and Myrtle nodded.

"They're not very nice about you." Myrtle continued. "But you don't seem remotely upset by it."

"Oh well I don't really care what they think." Luna replied blithely. "I have my friends and that's all I need." Luna leaned in closer to Myrtle. "And sometimes I have to stand up to the bullies when they go too far. Perhaps you should try that as well."

Perhaps it was the air of dottiness surrounding Luna that gave Myrtle her unexpected courage. Maybe it was the result of years of unhappiness. Maybe Luna's words simply happened to strike a cord in Myrtle. Whatever it was, the resulting burst of courage blossoming inside made Myrtle's decision for her.

"You're right!" Myrtle exclaimed. "You're absolutely right! I SHOULD stand up for myself!" And with those words, Myrtle flew out of the bathroom in search of her biggest tormentor.

"I wonder where she's gone?" Luna mused. "I do hope that she doesn't do anything silly."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

On the floor above, Peeve's was busy throwing bits of gum at the ceiling, trying to make it stick. To be honest, he was bored, especially now the war was over and peace had returned to the wizarding world.

"PEEVE'S!" A voice yelled at him. Peeve's turned, expecting to see McGonagol, or one of the other female teachers. He almost fell out of the air in shock when he realised that it was Moaning Myrtle.

"Myrtle?" He asked in a stunned voice as she marched over to him. She grabbed his ear and pulled him down to face her.

"Yes, ME!" she bellowed. "I am SICK and TIRED of you PICKING on ME! It stops happening today! I DON'T want to hear another insult from you EVER again."

Peeve's nodded in a mixture of fear and admiration and…something he didn't fully understand. She let go of his ear and turned around.

"Hey Myrtle!" he called out as she walked away. She turned and faced him, an angry expression on her face. Peeve's did something he…did not expect. He kissed her, firmly on the lips. As the two of them parted, they were both blushing.

"That was…WOW!" Myrtle said as she continued to blush. Peeve's fiddled with the hem of his suit, unable to look Myrtle in the eye. Then Myrtle leaned forward and kissed Peeve's. And that cemented one of the greatest prank teams that Hogwarts would ever see.


End file.
